re: Is Sam Pittman the Arkansas version of Coach O?

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All head coaches are dependent on their co-ordinators.

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That is true to some degree. However, most HC's have experience coordinating one side of the ball. So while they may not call the plays, they can dictate the approach. Saban and Smart don't call the defensive plays, but they are very much involved and have an understanding of the playcalling and overall approach.

Outside of the DL, Orgeron is and was a football buffoon. He didn't get the opportunity to prove that from 17-19 while Aranda was the DC. Ed got the job (in part) on the premise that he would retain Aranda from the prior staff. Aranda's defensive approach was not Ed's preferred defensive approach. But, Ed stayed out of the way. Once Aranda left though Ed decided he was going to unleash his great football mind on the world. That's why he hired a DC with little to no market demand to run a defensive approach from 15 years ago. The results spoke for themselves. LSU IMMEDIATELY went from 2 decades of solid defensive teams to one of the worst in the nation.

Pittman is never going to be a play caller gameplay designer at Arkansas. So in order for him to have on-field success he has to have two coordinators who can fully handle those roles independently. Brady and Aranda got the lion's share of the coaching credit for 2019. O, as the HC, didn't like that. He wanted more control over the on field approach....which ultimately led him from hiring FAR from the best coordinators.

Pittman seems a bit more humble. He's willing to live with the fact his DC and OC are probably going to get more credit for the on-field success of the team, and won't be afraid to hire guys in the future that may be more important to the success than other coordinators.